The present disclosure relates to a flow channel device that causes particles of cells and the like to flow and a sorting apparatus including the flow channel device.
From the past, as one of various systems of cell sorters (cell sorting apparatuses), there is a system that sorts cells using a dielectrophoretic method.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2012-98075 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1) discloses a cell sorting apparatus (cell analysis/sorting system) that uses the dielectrophoretic method.
The cell sorting apparatus includes a cell sorting chip that includes a micro flow channel. This apparatus measures, when a fluid including cells flows through predetermined flow channels in the chip, a complex impedance and a complex permittivity among the flow channels and sorts the cells based on the measurement result. The chip includes a signal detection electrode (measurement portion) for measuring a complex impedance and a complex permittivity of cells and detecting signals.
The chip also includes as a cell sorting means, on a downstream side of the signal detection electrode, an operation electrode (electric field application portion) having a predetermined shape, that is provided for forming an electric field for imparting an appropriate dielectrophoretic force to the cells. According to a difference in the state of the dielectrophoretic force via the operation electrode, that is, a difference in the electric field generation state, one of two branch channels provided downstream from the operation electrode is selected so as to cause the cells to flow through (see, for example, paragraphs (0025), (0028), etc. in specification of Patent Document 1).